November 13, 2008

G’Day Mate

After one trip to the Australia Gold Coast as part of the champcar bailout agreement, the Indy Car Series will not return. Indy Car wanted to move the event to March; the Surfers folks wanted it to Stay in October. There was no meeting halfway.

In one sense it’s a shame. The defunct cart series ran the event every October since 1991. On the other hand it did not do much for the sponsors or fans of Indy Car, and it would be foolish to try and compete against the NFL.

There are some down under who have taken the popular (with some old cart fans anyway) ‘blame it all on Tony George’ approach. Really, who cares? That event was never really about the racing. It was about debauchery, scantily clad women, drinking and having a party. Besides, the ‘track’ is one of those God-forsaken temporary circuits. That is not racing. That is a fast parade. The less of those abominations the better. If that is the direction they want to go I would rather see a Cleveland on the schedule instead of some idiotic temporary street circuit gypsy carnival. Hell, Long Beach is on the schedule for 2009, so they are not going away.

A1GP is the announced replacement, and personally I believe that is a much better fit. That series could use the money and the crowd. More power to them. As long as they don’t lie and call it the ‘Indy’ I will be happy.